Chrysler Betting Big on Dodge Dart

By Christina Rogers

LOS ANGELES—Chrysler Group LLC expects December to be its best sales month to date for its new Dodge Dart compact car, according to a senior executive.

Chrysler expects Dart sales of around 5,000 cars this month, and the number to rise as a better mix of vehicles arrives at dealerships, Dodge brand chief Reid Bigland said in an interview at the Los Angeles Auto Show. December typically is a strong selling month for auto makers, he added.

“Into December, we expect to break through that 5,000 mark without too much difficulty,” Mr. Bigland said.

The Dart, which went on sale in late June, is one of Chrysler’s most important new models since it exited bankruptcy in 2009.

The vehicle is the first car to be produced from Chrysler’s partnership with majority owner Fiat SpA and represents a major test of CEO Sergio Marchionne’s vision for combining the two companies into a single, global auto maker.

It is also Chrysler’s first new small sedan in nearly seven years, so its performance in the hotly-contested market for compacts is being closely watched.

So far, Dodge has sold 14,709 Darts since the car’s launch in June, including 5,455 in October, according to researcher Autodata Corp. Dart sales in September were 5,235.

While sales are climbing, they’re still about one-fourth of what other top models like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla sell in a month. The Chevrolet Cruze, a U.S. built compact car launched in 2010 by General Motors Co., reported sales of 19,121 in October.

Upon launching the Dart in June, Chrysler executives say they had planned for a gradual production ramp to ensure quality. The first Darts to hit dealer lots were equipped with stick shifts only, followed later in the summer by automatic transmissions. A high-mileage version of the Dart, called the Aero, that gets up to 41 miles on a gallon of gasoline in highway driving, began arriving this fall.

Mr. Bigland said the company is now delivering a more optimal mix of manuals, automatics and packaging options to its U.S. dealers. “We like the spot we’re in with the Dart,” he added.

Buyers are paying to add more options and features to the Dart, helping it fetch an average transaction price of $22,012, Mr. Bigland said. That is about $2,800 higher than the average for compact cars and about $5,000 more than its predecessor, the Dodge Caliber, he added.

Comments (2 of 2)

I'm glad that Chrysler Group LLC decided to go with a gradual production ramp. The last thing they need is to rush the Dart into the market without getting the bugs worked out. That's one of the things that got the original Chrysler into trouble as far as quality was concerned, the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare debacle being a case in point.

7:35 pm November 29, 2012

Antonio 311 wrote :

The dart is a world class compact. Every single review have been positive. This car not only gets 41 mpgs bit it's also fun to drive & it's styling is great. Everyone should at least take a test drive before they decide what to purchase. Good job on this one Chrysler, you're going to sell a ton I them!